Hans Joachim Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel was born on 12th September 1893 in Berlin, the second child of Prussian General Conrad von Hippel and his wife Else von Hippel. He joined Jagdstaffel 5 (fighter squadron) in 1917 at Boistrancourt in northern France, having earlier transferred from field artillery to the Luftstreitkräfte, the Imperial German Air Service.
